Am I the only one who got burned by cheap patio pavers?

I bought a pallet of those bargain concrete pavers from a big box store last spring, and after one winter in Michigan, half of them are cracked and flaking. I'm out about $400 in materials and a full weekend of labor. What's a better material for a patio that actually holds up to freeze-thaw cycles?

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3 Comments

avery2196mo ago

Was it the concrete itself or the base prep that failed? Even good pavers crack if the gravel base isn't deep and well compacted.

5

sean_cooper586mo ago

You're right about the base, but what about the ground under the gravel? If the soil underneath is all messed up from tree roots or old plumbing, it'll shift no matter how much gravel you put on top.

7

taylorshah6mo ago

But sometimes the ground is just fine... you can overthink this stuff and end up doing way more work than you need.

3